Mayor’s Row………by Ned Mitchell
Greetings from Sesser City Hall! We hope you are enjoying your summer thus far and that the heat is not too unbearable. If you are having trouble with the heat give us a call and we will see if we can’t direct you to some agency that offers help such as fans or cooling shelters. This is a good time to think about city workers who are outside in all of this heat. We have water/sewer workers installing a new water line on South Elm Street, street department workers are tearing down an old house or two and doing some ditching, cemetery mowers are keeping the cemetery and park looking sharp, and police officers are on the streets patrolling. They are all out in the weather and while we often think about them in the harshness of the winter, it is equally as harsh when the temperatures and humidity have been so high lately. If you see them out in your neighborhood, offer them a cool drink and a word of thanks. We have the best employees around as far as I am concerned and they all show that on a daily basis!
New owners have taken over the Opera House Café, and that is just what it is going to be called coming Wednesday, July 27th. We invite you to stop in and see new owners Patty and Paul and welcome them to Sesser. They live in Benton and have been looking to open up a restaurant in the area. The Opera House became available and they took up the challenge. You will see some changes there and you will see some familiar faces on employees that worked there several years back. We welcome them to Sesser and wish them the best in their new business venture!
The Sesser Public Library is a good place to take kids, or for that matter, yourself to enjoy the books and reading programs they have available this summer. Director Lowanda Johnston and her staff have a full summer planned and it is not too late to catch some of the activities or just check out a book for your own enjoyment. They are open every afternoon from 1 until 5 and Saturday mornings until noon.
Work is underway to start collecting items that you can donate to be sent to our troops fighting for democracy. Contact has been made by us with a group that will get items sent overseas that we are able to collect here. We will have a few collection points and ask that folks from this area think about it and do the right thing. Can you imagine being in a foreign land without the basic things we have grown to expect? What would life be like with a limited supply of toothpaste, batteries for a CD player, books, magazines, deodorant, just small simple things that everyday we take for granted? We have troops overseas that find these commodities hard to come by. I know everyone has an opinion about the war we are fighting, some for, some against, the range is wide on opinions, but we should all support our troops over there who have answered the call and are putting their lives on the line for us. There should not be a day that goes by but what we stop and remember them in our thoughts and prayers and offer them thanks for what they are doing. Agree or disagree about why we are there, it is time for us to get together and support our troops. If you can’t donate items that are non perishable you can write a letter. That will cost you nothing but a stamp and we are working on getting addresses where mail to the troops can be sent. Let’s see what we can do in Sesser!
Much has been said, a lot by me, concerning the radical element that is causing all of the terrorism throughout the world. Some are bent on disrupting our way of life and we are simply going to have to take up the task and get tougher or terrorists, no matter who they are or where they are. I was happy to see a local Muslim leader write in the paper condemning the actions of some that share his religious convictions. Those of us on the outside are not able to reach those folks, but those on the inside are and they simply have to do more to stop the venom that is being preached by their own radical element. I would feel the same way if Methodists, Baptists, Catholics, or any other religion was preaching this type of destruction. This country, our own America has done more to feed and clothe the world than any other. We have sent missionaries for years to doctor people all over the world. We have, after terrible wars from bitter enemies, went back into those countries and helped them rebuild. We are not trying to take over the world, but we are the most generous nation ever to help others have a better life. Those in the radical movement that call their actions based on religion need to be stopped by their own people. Until their religious leaders put a stop to this radicalism and violence, there is little we can do but hunt them down and make them pay a big price for their actions. If anything in this country we are too lenient on those types of people. It is a terrible thing to say or think, but if things don’t turn around soon we are all going to be adopting an us or them way of thinking. But hey, I’ve had that line of thinking for a long time now. I’d like to not be that way, but we are one by one being forced to think that way to protect our future. I can assure you that based on what we have seen thus far this radical element that has infiltrated the Muslim religion does not have our best interest at heart. We are not a bad country and our form of government, while not perfect, beats the pants off of what they call government. If they want to continue down this road, then we have an obligation to take them where they want to go.
Have you been following the case of convicted child molester Joseph Edward Duncan? Here is a man who was in prison for molesting a child, is released on parole, gets charged with molesting a 6 year old child, and get this, is released on $15,000.00 bond. Now he is charged with killing a mother, her boyfriend, a child, kidnapped two of their children and killed one of them while repeatedly molesting the other one. For crying out loud in a bucket, when are we going to wake up in this country and demand that our judges stop this type of ridiculous activity? Why would a convicted child molester who is out on parole and gets arrested for molesting another child even be allowed to bond out? This is a question that the judge should be made to answer. The victims and this family deserve answers. Read the court report in Franklin County. Be aware of what is going on around you. If you study the system and follow that court report I am sure you will have questions that need to be answered. These folks work for us, we don’t work for them and we need for them to be aware that we are watching.
Don’t forget to mark your calendar for the Christopher Homecoming the first weekend in August. There are a lot of activities planned and their committee has worked hard at putting this event together. For information you can call Christopher City Hall at 724-7648. Sesser folks know what is involved on a project like this and we applaud our neighbors to the south for taking this step!
Sesser’s own Sale Barn flea market is enjoying great success this summer. In case you do not know, the sale is every Tuesday from daylight until about noon and you can find just about anything you need or don’t need on sale. There is lots of produce during the summer as well as all kinds of bargains. I’m in the category of finding things I don’t need, but buying them anyhow. The sale is held in the city park where there is a lot of shade and plenty of parking. The event will continue until bad weather hits. We invite you to come to Sesser and check this old event out. You will surely find something you don’t need, but yet can’t live without.
Need help with a problem concerning the city? Give us a call at 625-3611, 625- 5322, or 625-5788. Email us at nedmitchell@verizon.net or www.sesser.org .
| |
|
